Rain, rain go away..

It rained with a vengeance yesterday, and Bangalore came to a grinding halt. Road rage reached a dangerous high and people perspired in bucketfuls. The road near silk board was an extension of Madiwala lake, and would have given a healthy complex to any swimming pool in Bangalore. Given the situation, it will not be long before more kids like Vijay are swept away. Our civic authorities will make the right noises, offer peanuts as compensation, which is anyway a lot cheaper than repairing the sorry state of our drainage system, and wait for a thankfully short public memory to achieve the rest.

Coming to yesterday`s episode, it was a nightmare for me and the others in the bus. Roads, inundated with water, irate motorists honking madly, incessant rains that wouldn`t allow the windows to be opened, the collective tempers of the passengers, leading to an increase in temperature of an already sweltering bus, sweat gathering on the brow, being wiped repeatedly; If there is hell on earth, this was it. The fate of pedestrians, wading through waist-deep water, was not only pitiable, but also had dangerous implications. The sight of three kids, with bags on their heads,being tossed around by the swirling water currents, made me really nervous. I hope they made it back home safely. Inside the bus, frayed tempers led to people blaming the powers-that-be, for making them spend long hours in office. Some people started to sing to relieve boredom. If things were not so bad outside, this would have been really funny.

When nature strikes, the humane aspect of the species manifests itself. Yesterday, was no different. There was a guy, helping an old lady cross the road. Pedestrians, were seen assisting the traffic cops, who had their plates full, directing traffic, new friendships were forged inside the bus, as the music blaring on the walkman jarred people`s nerves, and they yearned for human company. As a result of this, when I finally did reach home, my countenance wasn`t as demonic as it usually is, when I have to go through such an ordeal. I had seen the havoc that rains caused in Mumbai on TV, and never thought I would actually get to face it. The rains yesterday, proved that our infrastructure is as good as Mumbai`s, when it comes to letting its citizens have a very intimate date with the rains.